Potomac Flacks: AP: Obama Taps Passionate Defender for Press Secretary

November 24, 2008

AP: Obama Taps Passionate Defender for Press Secretary

We've already posted an item on this, but over the weekend, the AP had a solid profile of the newly named press secretary for the Obama Administration, Robert Gibbs.

Some highlights:

...Gibbs has been at the side of President-elect Barack Obama since his Senate campaign in 2004. A Southerner and tough fighter, Gibbs has been a passionate defender of Obama who can virtually channel the Illinois senator's thoughts.

...Others were surprised when he called Fox News' Bill O'Reilly a "bully" and asked Sean Hannity, "Are you anti-Semitic?" in response to the TV commentator's questions about Obama's relationship to William Ayers, a 1960s radical.

...Gibbs generally got along well with reporters covering the Obama campaign, but some complained that he ignored too many of their requests for information and guidance. That could become a problem in the hectic White House press corps unless he manages to delegate his workload deftly, some of them believe.

Posted by Blain Rethmeier on November 24, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Matt Mackowiak is a Washington, D.C. and Austin,TX-based Republican strategist and communications consultant and President of Potomac Strategy Group, LLC. In his career he has managed a winning Congressional campaign and worked in the U.S. Senate, at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, at a leading international PR firm, on a presidential campaign in Iowa and in White House presidential advance. Follow him on Twitter - @MattMackowiak

Laura Gross - Contributor
Laura Gross is currently president of Scott Circle Communications. She has served as deputy director of communications at the DNC, was Gov. Howard Dean's Communications Director and she worked in the press office at USAID during the Clinton administration. Her experience also includes time in the PR department of National Public Radio and she was part of Vice President Gore's advance team when he was in The White House.
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Blain K. Rethmeier - Contributor
Blain K. Rethmeier is currently the Senior Vice President for Public Affairs for the American Insurance Association (AIA). Rethmeier joined AIA from the White House where he served as Special Assistant to the President for Communications and directed communications for the National Economic Council and Homeland Security Council. Prior to joining the White House, Rethmeier served as Press Secretary for the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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